• What We Do
    ○
    • Sales Technology Consulting Services
      ○
      • Sales Technology Consulting Services
      • Stakeholder Analysis & Sales Technology Audit
      • Sales Technology Selection Strategy
      • Sales Technology Vendor Moderation
      • Sales Technology Adoption Program
      • Sales Technology ROI
      • Multiyear Sales Technology Strategy
    • Research/Advisory
      ○
      • About Clear View Reports
        ○
        • Outbound Prospecting / Agent Assisted
        • Sales Enablement / Content Management
        • Sales Skills Development and Reinforcement
        • Sales Technology and Training Selector
  • Sales Tech Selection Resources
    ○
    • Certified Sales Technology Landscape
    • Tools and Guides
      ○
      • Sales Tech Stack Selection Tool
      • Sales Technology Buying Roadmap
      • Sales Technology ROI Guide
    • Sales Training
      ○
      • Sales Training Solutions
      • Certified Sales Training Landscape
  • Learning Center
    ○
    • The Neutral Zone Sales Technology Blog
    • The Neutral Zone Podcasts
    • The Neutral Zone Webinars
  • About
    ○
    • Contact Us
    • Our Story
    • News & Press
  • Sales Technology Selection Tool
Vendor NeutralVendor Neutral
  • What We Do
    • Consulting
      • Stakeholder Analysis & Sales Technology Audit
      • Sales Technology Selection Strategy
      • Sales Technology Vendor Moderation
      • Sales Technology Adoption Program
      • Sales Technology ROI Framework
      • Multiyear Sales Technology Strategy
    • Research/Advisory
      • Certified Sales Technology Profiles
      • Certified Sales Training Reports
      • Analyst Research
        • Outbound Prospecting / Agent Assisted
        • Sales Enablement / Content Management
        • Sales Skills Development and Reinforcement
      • Sales Technology and Training Selection Tool
  • Sales Tech Selection Resources
    • Sales Technology Solutions
    • Tools and Guides
      • Sales Tech Stack Selection Tool
      • Sales Technology Buying Roadmap
      • Sales Tech ROI Guide
    • Certified Sales Technology Landscape
    • Sales Training
      • Sales Training Solutions
      • Sales Training Selection Tool
      • Certified Sales Training Landscape
  • Learning Center
    • The Neutral Zone Sales Tech Blog
    • The Neutral Zone Podcasts
    • The Neutral Zone Webinars
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Our Story
    • News & Press

Industry Experts and Thought Leaders

The Neutral Zone Sales Blog

Buying Sales Technology and Training is hard. We’re here to help with curated content from leading experts, thought leaders, and analysts.

Scroll Down

The 5 Sales Technologies B2B SDRs Need to Book More Appointments

When it comes to optimizing sales, you’ll find a plethora of tips. Efficiently booking appointments is probably not going to be at the top of the list. However, this simple part of the sales journey is critical. How so? Simply put, a sales development rep’s (SDR) ability to efficiently schedule and follow-up with appointments is directly related to conversion.

“Time is money” is not just a cliche. Seventy percent of meetings scheduled within nine days of an initial contact, will take place. However, only 47 percent of meetings scheduled 30 days out will actually take place. Your SDRs’ ability to secure a meeting quickly and easily will directly impact the number of deals that your Account Executives (AE) can close.

Consider adding an appointment scheduling tool to your sales stack. Here are five technologies that can give your B2B SDRs a competitive advantage when it comes to booking appointments.

1. Cadence Tools

In sales, cadence refers to a sequence of activities that reps make to establish contact with prospects. It can include email, phone calls or contact via social media, and it is based on measurements, such as attempts, duration, spacing and content. Simply put, SDRs must keep up with a complicated series of events for each prospect if they want to be effective. Some experts estimate about 46 “touches” are needed per contact. How can sales reps keep up with so many contacts and touches?

Enter cadence tools. They allow reps to track the complex sales sequences needed in today’s market. Every prospect is unique. They have different preferred communication methods, unique times during the day when they are more receptive and respond to different messaging. These minute details can often get lost in a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. A cadence tool gives sales reps the added efficiency and productivity that CRMs lack.

An effective cadence tool will help your SDRs get the right leads at the right time with the right message. They can facilitate email automation, as well as remind reps when it’s time to follow-up. Cadence tools can help SDRs focus their efforts, track and refine the sales process, and be scalable. If you only have a few clients, it’s easy to keep track of them even if you are not the most organized person. However, once your client list begins to grow, things get out of hand easily. A cadence tool helps you to quickly adapt and keep moving without missing a beat.

2. Call Recording

Even though we live in a high-tech world, 65 percent of businesses still consider phone calls to be their most valuable, highest quality source of leads. Using a tool that records calls presents numerous opportunities. Here are two big ones.

  • Get all the details. Reps will never miss vital details when they can play a call back. They will not have to ask the prospect to repeat themselves. There’s no need to frantically takes notes. They can easily play the call back, write down and meditate on the prospect’s responses. Those notes can add details that will help reps get the appointments that will close the deal.
  • Create coaching opportunities. Monitoring a sales team’s performance and identifying areas of improvement is a challenge for sales managers. Call recording tools give them the opportunity to listen to calls, give one-on-one feedback and share suggestions. Managers can address the ineffective parts of the call, as well as give commendation when reps use best practices.

3. CRM

CRMs provide the ideal home base for SDRs. They are great tools in themselves, but also work seamlessly with many other valuable tools, such as cadence tools. How can an effective CRM help book more appointments? They hold vital data needed to contact prospects. In addition to basic contact information, CRMs store all activities and scheduled plans in one place. Most are mobile, allowing uninterrupted access from multiple locations or while your reps are on-the-go. Data is never lost or out of reach.

CRMs help reps organize and optimize their daily schedule and prioritize tasks, so that prospects are never ignored or forgotten about. The data available within the CRM also helps reps segment and identify valuable opportunities, so they can spend time following up on prospects that are most likely to book an appointment.

4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is a sales management tool that allows reps to tap into LinkedIn’s extensive network. In addition to helping them find leads, LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a great research tool. Know when to follow-up and book an appointment. This tool helps reps track key events, such as job changes, when new decision makers come in and when companies win funding. It helps SDRs reach the right people within the right organizations.

Best of all, it integrates with your CRM. Reps can automatically save leads and Sales Navigator activity to their CRM. This effective tool helps reps manage their pipeline by ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. Use advanced searches. Save leads. Create custom account lists. Add notes and tags to certain accounts. And, gain powerful sales insights.

5. Calendar App

Don’t waste time going back and forth via email or the phone to try to nail down a time to meet. Make it easy for appointments to be made and automatically appear on the calendar with a calendar app. An automated scheduling tool allows SDRs to set their availability and preferences, and share them with prospects via an easy link. The prospect can choose the open slot that works for them.

These apps easily sync with the calendar of your choice. You can set choices for time duration, as well, if you want to give your prospects an option. Quit playing phone tag and impress your clients. They will appreciate the ease-of-use as much as you will.

B2B is Unique

B2B selling is unique. It can involve months of calling, negotiating, appointment setting and meetings. The stakes are high, and so are expectations. Give your SDRs a competitive edge by implementing tools that will help them land that critical appointment. Vendor Neutral is committed to simplifying the SalesTech selection process. Not sure what tools are best? Try our Simple Stack Selector for free.

October 21, 2020 Dan Cilley
  • We’re in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. Is your manufacturing business implementing digital transformation in the most effective way?
    Are You Ready for Industry 4.0? The Digital Transformation of Manufacturing According to many in the manufacturing industry, we are currently in the middle of the...
  • Top ERP Transformations That Support buyers
    Top ERP Transformations That Support Buyers B2B companies are currently up to their necks in "digital transformation." They're moving at a rapid clip to enhance the...
  • Increase-eCommerce-Adoption-by-including-your-Sales-Team
    eCommerce Adoption and Your Sales Team Internal Resistance Any type of change within an organization is likely to see some resistance. It’s not that change is necessarily...
  • 10 Ways to Provide Value to Sales Technology Vendors
    10 Ways to Provide Value to Sales Technology Vendors…Even When They Don't Win the Deal Not every sales technology vendor is the perfect fit for your...
  • Why You Are Experiencing Digital Transformation Failure
    Top 10 Reasons You Experience Digital Transformation Failure In a world of augmented technology and heavy investment in resources for digital transformation, it is alarming that...
  • Data Driven Digital Transformation of Your Revenue Operations
    Data Driven Digital Transformation of Your Revenue Operations We live in a rapidly changing business landscape. If your organization is still relying on intuition and gut...
  • Propel Your Growth in 2022 with Revenue Operations
    A Healthy Revenue Operations Program Is Essential to Driving Growth Why You Need RevOps Now More Than Ever  If you’re a midmarket or enterprise company and you’re...
  • Everything You Need to Know about Digital Transformation
    Everything You Need to Know about Digital Transformation Digital transformation can be a powerful tool your business uses to maximize productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. Here's what...
  • Step-by-Step Strategy for Driving Digital Transformation
    11 Steps for Driving Digital Transformation through Sales Technology Adoption A Proven Digital Transformation Strategy and Framework Are you looking to update your business strategy with digital...
  • Framework for Effective Digital Transformation Strategy
    Why People, Processes, and Technology Are Vital to Your Digital Transformation Strategy With the new year, many companies are reassessing, updating, or implementing their business strategy....
  • How to Vet an Enterprise Sales Technology Consultant
    10 Questions to Ask before Hiring an Enterprise Sales Technology Consultant Carefully Vet Third-Party Consultants for Maximum ROI Sales technology has the power to revolutionize how you...
  • Defining the Ongoing Costs of Your Sales Tech Stack
    How to Define the Ongoing Costs of Your Sales Tech Stack Solutions 5 Key Factors That Affect Your Bottom Line When it comes to defining the ongoing...
  • 5 Common and Costly Sales Tech Stack Mistakes
    5 Mistakes That Prevent the Perfect Sales Tech Stack How to Improve the ROI of Your Sales Technology When organizations think about the “perfect” sales technology stack,...
  • Have Success with Your Sales Technology Selection in 2022
    Reevaluate Your Sales Technology Selection Process in 2022 Why Technology Matters, and How to Have Success with Your Selection Process With the start of a new...
  • B2B Digital Sales Trends during COVID-19
    What’s Changed in B2B Digital Sales? What We’ve Learned with the Dramatic Shift to Digital Sales Programs during COVID-19 For anybody operating a B2B organization during the...

Upcoming Events

No event found!
Vendor Neutral Dark Background
  • Sales Technology Solutions
  • Sales Technology Selection Tools
  • Sales Technology Consulting Services
  • About Vendor Neutral
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Copyright © 2021 Vendor Neutral LLC. All Rights Reserved